Heritage Home Consulting & Antique Appraisals in Edmonton

Main Menu

Sketching during long Car Rides

Pen and ink sketch done while in the car and touched up with watercolour later

Long distance driving holidays can be pretty boring when you’re a passenger. After you’ve read your books, texted your friends and checked your email a half dozen times (yawn) it’s time to do something else.

I get bored like anyone else but the one thing that sitting in a car for endless miles does for me is to give me time to do some sketching. I can’t sketch landscapes effectively given that we’re passing the views at 110 – 120 kilometres per hour but I can sketch things out of books and magazines. That’s where I got the image above. I sketched it in fine felt pen then touched it with watercolour when we arrived at our destination.

I never go anywhere on holidays without carrying a small sketch book and fine tipped pens.

I take a hand sewing project with me. Small collages that I’ve put together from found materials, scraps of fabric, a few beads or something I’ve picked up in my travels. Sometimes a small item that needs a bit of embroidery to dress it up. They are nice keepsakes, gifts or small frameables for when I get home. You just have to make sure the needle isn’t near your fingertip when you go over a big bump. :-0 I take sketching materials on holidays too, but never thought to try sketching in the car!

Yes, that would hurt! I’ve also done quick gesture drawings of a landscape in 30 seconds or less – can’t say I particularly love the results but doing this trains you to pick the most important elements immediately.

Enjoyed your article today and to find out more about you. I didn’t realize that you’re an artist, too. I think your sketches are great and watercolor makes them look lovely. I know it takes talent to create drawings like these. Thank you for sharing!